New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-03-15
MEYPENSITE EOOLING

Our neghbOrs of "The Evening Telegram "
are displcascd with the action of the Lcgislat-
uTc on the prison question "Thc Telegram
charactcrizcs the appropriation of 81 100000
for prison expenses as "cxpcnsve fooling," and
expands its Indignation thus
II is not ten years since the Governor Of York held
IN fact that the State prisons managed to pay
their expenses matter for public congratuation In
a message to the Legislature And the people and the
press generally responded with congratulations In re-
membrance OF that how do the taxpayers like the looks
of the following million appropriation aotl
This million OF dollars has got to out of the peoples
pockets the State tax this year. More than half OF 1t
will Of the pockets or the Taxpayers in this city
and Brooklyn Tho nintcligent foolng which Is going
on with the State prisons is expensive.
The taxpayers of the State who are stcrnly
opposed to the prison policy into which tho
State has been forced-and VIC should not bc
surprised if there were good many of them -
cannot fail to understand how the new order
of things was brought about. Under the con-
Wet contract system the prisons hal become
sclf-suStaining, were steadily improving Ill
every respect, and were not conflicting to any
material extent with outside labor. In 1883
the Democratic party signalizcd their return
20 the control in both branches of the Lcgis-
laturc by inaugufating a war upon this self
sustaining prison policy. Equal TO tearing
down but not equal to building up, they were
unable 10 agree upon any system of labor TO
take the place Of the contract system. Ac-
cordingly they shlrllcd their responsibility and
practically confessed their incompc;cncy by
doing nothing themselves and referring tic
matter TO n popular vote
At the general election in Novcml%. 1883,
Il vote was taken which resulted in Is majority
against contract labor But it Vastly no means
a full expression Of the populSf will Either
there was no general distribution Of prison
ballots, or the point at issue was not generally
understood, or a great many thousand of our
citizens failed TO take enough Interest in it 70
cast ballot Of either sort. The number Of
votes cast for Controller at Uhat election was
So. 72S. while the number Of votes cast on
prison labor was but G72,S32, thus showing
that % per cent OF those who voted for Con-
trollcr failed 10 vote on tic prison question.
But the vote was commonly rcgapicd Is de-
cisvc AGAINST tc contract system, and accord
ingly the Legislature Of 1851 repealed the
system. Since this action was taken tho
prison policy Of the State has been drifting, and
the prisons themselves have declined in eli
cheney and in ability to pay their own way.
The Prison Labor Commission, which was
appointed last year reported in favor Of the
State account system socalcd. \ portion OF
the 81 100000 which the Legislature has Just
appropriated 10y Ic terms OF tic Bill viii lie
devoted TO the purchase Of material and 30
meeting the expenses Of manufacturing. The
objection to contract labor Tat it intcrfcrcd
with free labor also applies 20 the State account
system-a Circumstance which Democrats VINO
cncrgctically clamorcd for a change Of systems
in the hope Of catching labor . votes find II
convenient TO ignore "Thc Telegram" and
all other newspapers that find thcmclycs
prompted to regard the course pursued in regard
TO the prisons a, expensive foolne' would do
well to bear in mind the facts which we have
grouped together If the prisons OF the State
become the heavy burden 10 the taxpayers
which they were under the old inspector sys-
ten. The Democratic party will have TO shoulder
| the responsibility.